Rename a Site Collection

Occasionally users want their Site Collection renamed and the URL updated. It's a very reasonable request and pretty simple if we were dealing with a non-SharePoint website.  Since we can't rename a site collection through the UI we have to get a little more creative.

 

  

The Problem:

• Need to change the name of the Site Collection
• Need the URL to update with the name change
• No renaming option in Central Administration
• No renaming option in Manage Content and Structure

This isn't a single step process, but overall the process is pretty simple.   

 

Prerequisites:

• Access to Central Administration
• Destination Path to Export the Site Collection as a .CMP File
• Name of Current Site Collection
• Name of New Site Collection
• Users who decide on a site name and then change their mind

 

The reason why we have to Export the Site Collection is so there won't be duplicate GUID's for what is actually a different Site Collections.  You can't have 2 Site Collections with the same ID's in 1 Farm, as it would *literally rip a hole in the space/time continuum.

 

 

The Solution:

 

 

We'll be Exporting the current Site Collection to a File and then restoring it under a different name.

 

1. Open Central Administration
2. Select Backup and Restore
3. Granular Backup > Export a Site or List
4. Under Site Collection, Select the Site Collection to Export
• No reason to select site or list since we're exporting the entire site collection
• example http://intranet/sites/old_and_broke
5. File Location > Path + File name for the Export:  C:\exports\old_and_broke.cmp
6. Select Export Full Security, but it can be deceiving and the Full Security doesn't come over well
• I recommend you verify the security after restoring, as this process will create new SharePoint Site groups
7. Export All Versions
8. Click Start Export 

After a few minutes, which will vary depending your server, size of the site collection and the SharePoint Gods, the export will be complete. 

 

 

Renaming and Restoring the Site Collection using PowerShell

 

**There is an extremely complicated PowerShell command that we'll use to restore the site collection and rename it at the same time.

 

 Restore-SPSite http://intranet/sites/new_hotness -Path C:\exports\old_and_broke.cmp -Force

-DatabaseServer IntranetDBServer -DatabaseName WSS_Content_Intranet 

 

This line of PowerShell will restore the site collection under a new URL and to a specific Content Database.

 

 

Option #2 for renaming and restoring

 

There is also a 2nd option for restoring, if you already have an existing site collection you want to overwrite. 

Prerequisite:  The new site site collection with the new name must already exist.

 

Import-SPWeb http://intranet/sites/new_hotness –Path C:\exports\old_and_broke.cmp 

 

This wonderful line restores the site collection over top of an existing site collection. 

 

 

Option #3 for renaming and restoring

 

You can create a site collection, based on a site template with PowerShell and then restore overtop of that.

 

New-SPWeb http://intranet/sites/new_hotness -Template "STS#0"

Import-SPWeb http://intranet/sites/new_hotness –Path C:\exports\old_and_broke.cmp 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

*No actual evidence of space ripping or even time ripping.

**Not actually complicated or extreme.